I just can’t get over the fact that even with Snowden throwing Putin a softball he still got slapped down when Pooty -Poot called him a spy. When the former head of the KGB says you’re a spy it’s game over.

Sec. Kerry knows how to do the perfect BURN. He just talked about Crimea and said the West hasn’t taken its eye of the ball, we’re ramping up the sanctions, international law applies to all of Ukraine and also has a say in Russia’s actions but nooooo….some British reporter jumped up and said, can I take it to mean that you (meaning the United States) have abandoned Crimea and are conceding that the sanctions didn’t work and have no hope of working since you only mentioned Crimea once.

I’m all, Bro, are you dumb or do you think it’s not your job to pay attention?

Sec. Kerry was all, do you hear yourself and the question you just asked? I just talked about Crimea and when I talk about Ukraine, obviously Crimea is part of the conversation.

There’s a new radio host on WCPT in Chicago, Wayne Besen. He was interviewed to hawk his new show and the subject of Russia came up. He said that the batshit crazy wing of the American Religious Right have made it their mission to export their brand of crazy worldwide. I knew about their efforts in Africa but hadn’t thought about Russia or the other countries of the former Soviet Union.

Not allowed any religion for almost a century, and faced with the collapse of the Soviet Union and its institutions, a huge gap was filled with religious fervor, supplied by our ‘missionaries’ of batshit crazy Religious Right. Replace the forced atheism with a libertarian free-for-all, and you get their hate-filled gay laws and, as it now appears, a rush to hate Jews, etc. Millions and millions and millions of dollars have been collected to support this ‘missionary’ work and it is having a direct effect on contemporary Russia.

So yes – we can draw a direct line from the American Religious Right to the rebirth of Nazi views.

Good work, guys.

This Wayne Besen made a chilling point that we have to address: this export of our particular brand of religious crazy. It is a hugely funded movement.

“If you’re trying to convince people that you are a disinterested seeker of truth who happens to be in Moscow because of a variety of very strange circumstances…and that you are not operating too closely with the current Russian regime, having Vladimir Putin get publicly chummy with you, spy-to-spy, is really not the way to make your case,” Pierce wrote Thursday on his blog.

I’m not one for hysterics and have never believed the world is going to blow up in Eastern Europe even if the media is covering it or not. At the end of the day, they’ll work out a final agreement even if the process is messy and frustrating. There is no WWWIII about to break out, there is no massive crisis. Everyone on the left, middle, and right – both media and ordinary citizens- need to pipe down and let the usual steps play out. They all want to blow each other up? Fine. Blow yourselves up but at the end of the day, you all will still have to come to the table and sort out a diplomatic solution.

Oh, this is just the beginning of the process. But there was an almost gleeful expectation of disaster. Because of course this would be another Obama Waterloo.

It’s just amazing how the lives of those in Ukraine were secondary to sticking it to PBO. “He’s weak”. “He’s feckless.” “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” When, with this agreement, he knew exactly what he was doing. It was PBO who rallied a reluctant West to slap Russia with increasing sanctions. We haven’t even gotten to the really harsh sanctions, and Putin already blinked.

Now, will all of those who were calling for military options acknowledge that PBO knew what he was doing? Sorry, that’s merely a rhetorical question.

I’m a child of the Cold War, so, yes, a confrontation with Russia did bring up long forgotten fears. But by writing here and on TPV I could work them out logically. Russia is not the Soviet Union. It’s a Potemkin state. As PBO said, it has no bloc of nations behind it. He took the exact right tack on the crisis.

Kerry stated from the beginning (and with the full agreement of PBO, I’m sure) that the 21st century disagreements cannot be solved through 20th century means. This administration ‘got it’ from the very beginning. The global economy is the overriding issue.

NW, you are very wise to have this attitude because: 1) hysteria and worry can sap your strength and confuse your thinking; and 2) no matter how much we try to follow, we can’t keep up with all ins and outs of the situation on the ground and at the diplomatic tables. We have to trust the president and our SOS.

What I have to admire most about this Administration during the Ukraine crisis is how it quickly developed a strategy and has stuck to it, not flailing with the changing winds such as a President Clinton might have done. PBO knows there’s no stomach for war in this country or the larger West, especially against Russia. But he also knows the US and the West have other levers of power which they can exercise. Sanctions may not be sexy, but they’re already having a devastating effect on Russia. If Russia were still isolated from the world economic system, it could ride out this crisis. But it’s not; it’s bound in its web, and its stock market shows it.

But the thing is that sanctions are a spigot which can be turned on or off at an instant. The Russian economy has already been dealt a harsh blow. And the current sanctions aren’t coming off, just no new ones. Putin thought boots on the ground would win him an expanded empire. He was too myopic to see that it’s not boots on the ground which determine power in the 21st century, but money circling the globe.

Can’t force myself to read that, but in passing I saw Rummy make reference to the fact that he sends an annual letter to the IRS, expressing his views.

I hope they paper the walls in the IRS headquarters rest rooms with his dumbass letters.

That guy’s an evil crook, from my POV. Josh Romney not only has daddy and mommy issues, he’s got a nasty evil streak from learning at the feet of his nasty evil parents. (Never used to use the word “evil” because of W, but if the evil fits, wear it, dumbasses.)

OH, JOB, can you just imagine the very overworked clerks at the IRS, opening a LETTER (and bothering to read it) during tax time when tens of thousands of forms are hitting their desks every day. I’ll bet clerks have a nice round circular file under their desks in which they deposit anything that isn’t pertinent to the actual tax filing. It would be like Romney not to consider the reality of how things actually function in an IRS office.

Yes, and – if I’m not mistaken – if taxpayers attach anything other than appropriate papers to their tax returns, or write “No taxation without representation” (for example) across the form, there’s a penalty. Rummy probably has his letters hand delivered by a “flunky.” Revolting WOS.

Applying the history of white supremacy in America to the Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision

Tom LevensonApr 16 2014, 9:32 AM ET

But that first-order take on this latest from the Supreme Court’s right wing misses a crucial dimension. It isn’t just rich folks who benefit from the Roberts Court’s view that money equals speech. Those who gain possess other key identifiers. For one thing, they form a truly a tiny elite. As oral arguments in McCutcheon v. FEC were being prepared last fall, the Public Campaign delivered a report on all those who approached the money limits the court struck down. They amount to just 1,219 people in the U.S.—that’s four in every 1,000,000 of our population.

Unsurprisingly, most of the report simply reinforces the main theme of the reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision: This is one more step toward securing governance of, for, and by rich people and their well-compensated servants. One of the most troubling aspects of the story is that the top donors in this country simply don’t encounter ordinary folks, the middle class no more than the poor

I have a question to throw out to the people here. The Manager of our Senior Dining in my building said she heard Medicare is not giving full throat to options for care that Seniors need or in the future for them, that way they can save money on the expense side. Not necessarily denying them care, just not letting the doctors tell patients what is available to them. I find this hard to believe, but maybe that does include the guide lines they submitted. I am a little confused on this, because I am just going through more stuff on my heart and the Mayo is putting statements in my file that were never related to me. Just that I refused to take the options of medications they were pushing. The only one I have said no to for the damned Cholesterol statin drugs. Everything else they prescribe I am trying to find someone that doesn’t charge an arm & a leg for. Especially those of us on a fixed income. I am not even sure I stated this properly, she watches FOX and believes this President is bankrupting the country. We have had some lively conversations about this. No specific points, just innuendos like from FOX. She says she heard it on a radio show.
Also, here is another rumor going around, in the last session, they slipped in a bill that would take away the statute of limitations on collecting fraudulent stuff in SS. Some woman, that her Mother did for years apparently and when she went to file her taxes and expected a refund, they told her she is responsible for her mother’s debt to the IRS and when this all heppened she was only 3-6 years old. It’s some 30 years old. I don’t get it. Just wondering if this is another RW rumor to scare the shit out of people, they did put this in our news paper here. Some rule changes to the IRS. Just asking, if anyone is aware of this.

Roberta, whenever someone tells you they heard it on the radio, they are repeating suspect information. I have found the AARP magazine to be very clear on how the ACA helps seniors and if there are questions, it is a far better thing to actually call and talk to a Medicare rep than to believe what a non expert says. If Mayo is misreporting something about you, you should definitely call them or call your Medicare insurance carrier and ask for their help.

Thanks, I have an appointment for the 2nd and will go through the report and see what they have to say, after that, it will be a dispute on my record. Maybe they won’t treat me anymore. I had a young Cardiologist that was called in on my case and he doesn’t really listen, tells me wha, but didn’t mention all the crap on that report. Thanks for the info.

(AP) — The lawyer who argued before the Supreme Court in favor of upholding California’s ban on gay marriage learned while he was handling the case that one of his children is gay and now is helping her plan her wedding with another woman.

Attorney Charles Cooper says his view of same-sex marriage is evolving after having argued in court that gay unions could undermine marriages between a man and a woman.

So aggravating when these lesser-evolved-in-general types use the word Evolve/Evolving, as if their Neanderthal brains have any clue what evolution is all about. Must be a trendy word to make them appear intelligent. Not to mention, they have all ‘borrowed’ (as in stolen) this concept from PBO, who was the first to present the fact that his own views were changing. They must think it makes them of a higher minded, broader reality group. Ha. We only hear of their enlightenment when it is something they must face in their private lives.

Donna, as usual, those who are born with empathy can actually understand what other people are feeling without having to live through it themselves. Those without empathy, have to have it shoved in their faces by real life.

Young, black men at Central High School in Champaign, Ill., are cunning, clever and cool – and they prove it all in a new music video that aims to combat the negative stereotypes often portrayed of minority males.

Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed have an unfavorable view of Cotton while 31 percent have a favorable view, the poll found. Thirty percent said they were unsure. By contrast, 42 percent of those surveyed said they have a favorable view of Pryor while 37 percent said they have an unfavorable view. Twenty-one percent said they were not sure.

The poll also found a tight race between Cotton and Pryor which may be good news for Pryor, who is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country. The poll found Cotton and Pryor tied with 39 percent each. Twenty-two percent said they weren’t sure.

It’s the latest bit of good news for Pryor. A string of recent polls — many of them commissioned by Democratic groups — have found Pryor actually leading Cotton in the Arkansas Senate race.

Things you won’t hear in the Media.
This administration is doing more behind closed doors…in places we never imagined.

The United States government is helping to save the lives of thousands of linemen who work for Pakistan’s electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) through a worker safety training program.
These efforts are part of a broad U.S. government energy sector assistance program for Pakistan that aims to increase its electricity output to benefit about 16 million people throughout the country by 2014. As part of the U.S. government energy sector assistance program, USAID has funded renovations at power plants, aided the completion of dams, and helped improve power distribution throughout Pakistan. By the end of 2014, these efforts are expected to add a cumulative total of 1400 megawatts to Pakistan’s national power grid.

I turned on MSNBC to see news about the breakthrough regarding Ukraine. Abby Huntsman was asking a guest questions about how little had been achieved and the banner read, “Talks Failed?” How about “Lives Saved!”

Screeeeech!!!!!! Just in time to say howdy to my O peeps on this great getting up day in TODdytown, before PBO takes the podium!!!! He’s getting ready to let the world know that 35% of ACA signees are under 35, Remember, that was another one of those bench marrks that they said he couldn’t meet. Yippee Ki Yi Yay!!!!